Because I Hate You
by Aera-Chan
Summary: What if Serenity never had the courage to save Joey when he was sinking to the bottom of the ocean? Would Kaiba have taken action? SetoJoey


Title: Because I Hate You

Series: Yugioh!

Warnings: SAP!! AU-ish, OOC-ish-ness. Um.. Yaoi/shonen ai/slash yeah, whatever ya wanna call it man/dude/friend/fiend/random personoid.

Pairings: Seto/Joey

Type of Ficcie: Romance/Drama-ish 

If you don't want to read the author's note… scroll down 'til it says "STOP!" But then u cant blame me for stuff when u haven't read my notice-ma-bob thingy.

--Beginning of SUMMARY-O--

What if Serenity never had the courage to save Joey when he was sinking to the bottom of the ocean? Would Kaiba have taken action? Seto/Joey

--ende of SUMMARY-O--

Well, if I owned Yugioh! in which…

I (Aera-chan) here by verify, that I do not own Yugioh! or any of the characters that appear in this fic…

But if I did, a lot of changes would be made such as…

Tea would get a muzzle or learn to keep her trap shut… (She's gotten a lot better with the whole "Friendship" crap… what a relief… *sighs*)

Yami and all the other yamis would have physical bodies… (Yay!)

Joey's chibi or SD form would be a puppy… (Ohh, so cute… *pets poor chibi* Ei! *gets bitten*)

Seto's chibi form would be a kitty… (Ohhh… cute… *chibi hisses* *slowly backs away*)

All the appropriate people would be together… basically there would be yaoi… lots… (YAY!)

They would swear a little bit… or at least use the word 'shnit' like in episode 3 I think when Joey's dueling Mai for the first time… that was the funniest thing in Yugioh! history when Joey said it to Mai…quote "I had it with your psychic shnit Mai…" Hehehehe, I love that part!…

Yeah, and some other things would happen… I just cant think of them…sad, ne? or is that a good thing?…

Well, anyways, some of the characters may be OOC because I have problems with staying in character especially if they are a mean character like Seto, or at least his kind of mean…

I cant really be mean, I'm too nice of a person… seriously, I cant help it, I cant really yell at people with out apologizing right away and feeing bad for weeks on end…

Example: I still feel bad for calling a teacher 'stupid' in 6th grade, I am now in 9th grade, isn't that sad?

Yeah, another thing, I write kind of sappy things, so this story might be a little too sappy for some of your guys' stomachs, well at least I think it's a bit sappy in its own little cute way. *girly giggle*

Yeah, I hope that's it, oh and don't flame if you don't have a real good reason too…

Its kind of mean and pointless…

And if you are bored and want to make someone's day a living hell, go poke fun at yourself in the mirror… it would make us all feel better…

If you do want to flame me… please email me instead at:

LuckiLynn32@aol.com

Or

Fluffyeatsand032@aol.com

…don't worry, if you don't want me to write some nasty letter back to you yelling and cursing, I wont, I'm not into that kind of stuff… unless you want me to… then I could find it in the bottom of my heart to do just that… for you of course. Now don't you feel special. That's because you are… 

Aerik (Aera's yami): *walks in* What kind of brainless nonsense are you filling these poor reader's heads with?

Aera: *looks innocent* I'm not. *digs in the sand with her toe*

Aerik: *rolls eyes* Sure.. Whatever.

Aera: Anyways, before I was so RUDELY interrupted… *flinches* *looks at Aerik* *exhales*

I proudly present my first attempt at a one-shot… be nice… and enjoy!

Aerik: *rolls eyes again* Whatever… *socks Aera in the head before happily frolicking off*

Aera: *sobs*

STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!

--Because I Hate You--

By Aera-chan

Joey slowly sank towards the bottom of the ocean

'…at least Yugi's okay. I don't care about myself.'

"No!" everyone screamed.

"Joey!" Tristan screamed as his best friend was sinking to his death. "I got to get the other key!" 

When he turned around to grab it, he saw a flash of black soar by.

"Kaiba?" everyone questioned.

Kaiba dived deep into the water, the key secured tightly in his right palm.

'You stupid idiot.' Kaiba thought worried 'Don't die, not now, not yet.'

Joey's air was steadily running out, he looked up and saw a shadow headed towards him.

'Yugi? Maybe Yugi's coming back for me.' Joey thought hopefully.

As the shadow neared, he got a big surprise.

'Kaiba?'

Kaiba drew close, grabbed the chain around Joey's foot and undid the lock. He grabbed Joey around the waist pulling him close to his chest and used the chain to gain leverage, pushing them both to the surface.

When they broke through to the salty sea air, Joey gulped it down greedily.

"Joey!" everyone cheered.

Tristan helped Joey out of the ocean, Mokuba rushed to his big brother's side.

"Oh, Joey, we thought we had lost you." Teá cried tears sparkling in her eyes. (Sora from .hack: How LA-AME!!)

"Oh big brother, I was so worried." Serenity exclaimed hugging Joey tightly.

Joey coughed up a little water and allowed his friends to fuss over him.

A few feet away Kaiba sat on the dock, squeezing the water from his clothes. He shooed his little brother off and continued on his petty task. 'Once again, I get no thanks. First for saving that girl, Teá, and now Joey. I am unappreciated. Probably just because it was me and they don't think I deserve to be shown gratitude.'

Joey's eyes flickered over to the brown haired CEO, they widened at the thought of him. 

'Why did _he_ save me? Wouldn't he just have enjoyed it if I died? I'm so confused, unless…'

Joey stood up and walked over to his side.

"Um…Kaiba?"

Kaiba didn't look up. "What Wheeler?" he said, his words coarse and bitter.

"Um, I just wanted to say… thank you, for saving me and all."

Kaiba still did not look his way. "Whatever."

Joey stood in silence for a while, reviewing the question in his head that he was going to ask Kaiba before he could leave. He didn't want it to sound stupid, since words weren't exactly his strong point. Usually, what he wanted to say, came out funny or wrong, he didn't want Kaiba to think he was ungrateful or pushy.

Kaiba could still sense his presence behind him. He didn't exactly want to see or talk to the blonde haired puppy. He would most likely either blowup in his face or end up kissing him silly.

~~~~ (Inner Kaiba thoughts time! Kinda anyways…more narrative though) ~~~~ 

It had felt like his heart was being torn from his body over and over again when he saw the anchor drop taking down his two most beloved friends, although he would have to be tortured and such for him to ever admit that, not even then would he utter any of those oh so corny words.

But when he saw Yugi come up, and not Joey, he was ready to shoot himself, just to silence the pain in his constricting chest.

He was so afraid he would never see that stupid idiot again. He was afraid he'd never be able to tell him about his feelings he had for him, for Kaiba had a secret. 

He had a crush on that idiot, a strong painful one.

He felt like sometimes that he would be willing to do just about anything for him, just for him to get a clue. 

Although Kaiba wasn't known for being afraid, actually the opposite was true. He was known for his ability to stare any monster in the eye with an unnerving sense of bravery, a smirk always playing across his lips. His eyes always cold. 

But when it came down to it, the only thing he couldn't seem to face, was his own heart.

It was easy to hide behind a wall of ice, but the fire of compassion and love scared him.

He was afraid of pain. Pain of a broken heart. He was afraid to lose. That's why he practiced so hard at duel monsters, he didn't want to lose. He was afraid of its consequences.

When he dueled Pegasus, when he was dueling for his brother, he knew that if he didn't win, he would never see the cheerful loving expression of Mokuba again. He hated that feeling of fear that was growing in his heart when he was losing his edge to that evil man. 

What a worthless thing.

The heart.

If he didn't have a heart, if he didn't have Mokuba, no one could hurt him.

He would be invincible.

But he wasn't.

All because he _could_ love.

And he did.

He loved Mokuba. He was his absolute best friend in the entire world. Without Mokuba, he would have been dead by now. He would have most likely killed himself.

That's because he had to have a heart.

That's because he got so lonely. 

That's because he got so depressed thinking no one loved him sometimes.

And that hurt.

Because of that useless thing inside of him.

The heart. 

Not the beating one, but the soulful one. The loving one.

But his love didn't stop at Mokuba, oh no, he loved Yugi too.

At first he was just a rival, a person he desired to beat, torment and hate.

But that hate was quickly replaced with admiration.

Admiration for the courage he had when he faced his demons. When he dueled for the people he loved, and the kindness that overflowed from that small body of his.

He always tried to be so kind to the brown haired boy.

And kindness is contagious, just like a yawn or the smiles of little kids. (1)

But Kaiba couldn't allow himself any more weaknesses, more ways for others to hurt him.

If he were to be Yugi's friend, some one would hurt Yugi. 

Just to hurt him.

He couldn't allow Yugi to get hurt because of him, he would hate himself if that were to happen.

So he tried to distance himself from them. He didn't want them to be in danger.

Kaiba Corp was after all, a sought out company to over take. Kaiba had billions of dollars.

The world was a greedy and jealous place. And an evil one too.

People would be willing to do anything for money. Even kill.

And what if they wanted to kill Yugi, just for Kaiba's money?

What then?

What if they did?

What then?

Kaiba couldn't allow that to happen. He couldn't allow those possibilities to arise, so he eliminated them.

He eliminated Yugi from a close personal friendship with himself.

He wanted Yugi's friendship, but he also wanted Yugi to be safe from harm.

He wanted himself safe from hurt also.

From the pain from the outside world, and from his own heart.

A dull throbbing of loneliness was better than heartbreak.

Then there was Joey.

That stupid blonde idiot he found himself slowly falling for. Scratch that, the stupid blonde idiot he _had_ fallen for. Hard.

At first he found himself appalled by the thought of Yugi actually considering that moron a friend.

But after watching him, he saw the loyalty and determination that reflected in everything he did and said.

He was loyal to Yugi, and the other friends he had. He never let his friends down, he always seem to be there from his observations.

Not only did he admire him for that reliability and willpower, but for his loving and kind nature.

When he learned of Joey's sister, Serenity, he was amazed by the love he had for his sibling. 

He found Joey just as smart as the others, even himself, but just a bit slower. And a little lacking on the common sense side.

That could explain the way he reacted when he was saving Yugi.

Kaiba would have unlocked himself first, then ran as fast as he could over to the opposing side and unlocked Yugi.

But obviously, Joey lacks that side of his brain, or he's just too devoted to that kid that he wasn't thinking straight or strategically.

But if it had been Kaiba in the same shoes as Joey, and went through with his own plan, he'd probably get enough friendship speeches to get him out of school for a week.

They would have said he was selfish unlocking himself first, although it would have been the safest and most reliable way to do it. 

Joey risked both their lives because he had to make his own little speech about saving Yugi instead of doing it.

He an idiot.

Just an idiot Kaiba loved.

But the same goes for Joey as it does Yugi.

If people knew he was in love with Joey.

They would hurt him.

They would abduct him and hurt him.

Kill him.

And that would kill Kaiba.

Or he would kill himself by choice.

Because of the pain.

The heartbreak.

So Joey was also eliminated.

Along with the rest of his gang of friends.

He would have to be alone, far away from them, it was too dangerous.

For him, and for them.

~~~~~~~~

"Um Kaiba…" Joey uttered softly, effectively startling Kaiba from all of his thoughts.

"You're still there, what do you want Wheeler, spit it out." The brunet said standing up, turning to face him.

Joey looked away embarrassed. "Why…why exactly did you…"

The rest of the gang had gathered behind Joey.

"Why did I what? Save you?"

Joey nodded his head looking up to stare into the icy blue orbs that hid beneath the wet brown locks that fell over the young CEO's vision lazily. His own amber orbs danced with wonder and appreciation towards the older teen.

"Well…" Joey pressed.

Kaiba knew that this may be one of the hardest things he had ever had to do. Either he could confess and kiss the blonde witless, or he could knock his lights out for no reason in particular.

He chose something close to the latter.

Joey and the others were eager to know, even Mokuba was a bit keyed up to see how his brother might react..

But Kaiba's temper surged suddenly when he chose to think about the pain he had felt when the anchor had dropped. 

"Why the hell do you think I did it?" Kaiba yelled at Joey, startling everyone and himself. 

Mostly he'd be known to say something cool and collected, but his nerves were racked and he just couldn't help it.

"Do you think I could just let you die? Huh Wheeler? I couldn't just let an idiot like you drown, that'd be… murder!" Kaiba looked down after he was done yelling.

Surprisingly, Joey wasn't offended by Kaiba's rude remarks regarding his intelligence. Somehow he could sense Kaiba had another reason. A hidden one.

"That's the only reason you saved me… cause you couldn't let me die? Why couldn't you? I almost did. Why not, its not like any one could blame you for my death?"

Kaiba looked up at him through the wet locks that were obscuring his sight of the blonde, his hair sparkling slightly in the light of the dying sun.

"Because I…" His voice was barely above a whisper. 

He gently and hesitantly reached forward, pulling Joey's face close to his own. His eyes closed slowly. 

"Because I hate you Joey Wheeler." 

He slowly pulled Joey's lips to his own in a soft and unsure kiss.

Joey was startled, but oddly, this is what he had expected from the older teen for awhile now.

Somehow, he had guessed that Kaiba had liked him a little more than he let on. But maybe not this much. This was just as equally surprising. He had also never thought the proud older Kaiba brother would ever relay his feelings in the open like this, at least not this dramatically.

But just as Joey began to relax and gently push into Kaiba's lips, the other boy pulled away and shoved Joey to the ground. 

"That's why I saved you. Happy now?" Kaiba turned his back to the group and strode off in the direction they had left the other chopper. "Come along Mokuba."

Before Mokuba could run off behind his older brother, he turned to Joey. "I hope you know what he means when he says he hates you Joey."

Joey nodded slowly, his eyes twinkled in happiness. "I do, actually, I think I've known for awhile now that every time he's saying 'I hate you' he really means to say…"

Joey stopped suddenly, smiling big. He stood up and called to Kaiba before he could get into Kaiba Corp's chopper.

"Seto Kaiba…"

Kaiba turned hearing himself being addressed.

"I…I hate you too…" Joey yelled to the brunet, his hands around his mouth like a mini-loud speaker.

He dropped his hands to his sides, but on second thought, he reached up and shyly played with a lock of golden hair while smiling as big as he could manage without laughing out loud. 

Kaiba smiled a genuine smile before climbing into the Kaiba Corp chopper and directing the pilot to start it up.

Mokuba hopped in behind his brother and they took off. The pilot flew over and hovered above the group, Kaiba flipped a ladder down a little and climbed down a few steps.

"Joey Wheeler… I hate you more!"

Joey's cheeks tinged slightly, before answering. "Nuh Uh, I hate _you_ more!"

Seto Kaiba was obviously not going to give up. He stepped down a few more steps and hung by one arm looking down at his new lover.

"No you cant, cause I hate you more than the world itself! I hate you more than ice cream and…and my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Tears sparkled in Joey's eyes. 'Kaiba loves me more than his Blue Eyes.' (Aera: XD Ahh, the sap! It burns!)

Although Kaiba was playing at high stakes now, Joey was also of competitive sport.

"I hate you more than my Red Eyes and…all the food in the universe! Suck on that!"

Kaiba smiled down at him. He said nothing further. 

Joey finally spoke up. "Hey Kaiba, when will you have the balls to tell me the truth?"

Kaiba smirked. "In your dreams Pup."

"You already have, how 'bout reality?"

Kaiba smiled, his eyes sparkling. He kicked the rope ladder down all the way and climbed to the bottom.

"How about now?"

He grabbed Joey around the waist with his free arm and lifted him up a few feet into the air, capturing his lips in a tight passionate kiss.

When he let go, he looked Joey in the eyes and whispered. "I love you puppy."

Joey smirked at the nickname Kaiba had obviously dubbed him with. "I love you too, you big jerk."

Kaiba captured his lips once again before letting him down to the ground. "Later then?"

"Later." Joey said smiling shyly.

Kaiba chuckled as the chopper took off, blowing everyone around. (Aera: GOOD! *is evil*)

"Later then." Joey said to himself as his new love disappeared into the sunset.

~Owari~

Ohhh…how sweet… how… sappy. Okay, who thought it was too sappy, raise your hand. *looks around* …

Well too freakin bad! I write sap, cause I cant help it! Yeehehehee! *runs around*

I'm a sappy person I guess, I mean…

'Tears sparkled in Joey's eyes.'

What the hell is that? I dunno but its sappy I can tell you that.

Hey guess what everyone, I got $22 for cleaning up dog crap. Cool ne? Well, in a gross kinda way I guess. Originally it was supposed to be $5 but hey, I take what I get, correct?

Well, I hope you liked it despite the sappiness and yeah, but hey, a little sappiness never killed no one right? Or is that water? Hmn, let me look that up.

Later!

Oh and R/R Please! I will love you forever! And if that scares you, then just ask and I'll hate you forever if that makes you feel more comfortable. Hehehe.

~Aera-chan

(1) Aera: Got that from "Meet You Online!" great story, I highly recommend it!


End file.
